<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Everything Has Changed by rebeccaofsbfarm</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24550099">Everything Has Changed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeccaofsbfarm/pseuds/rebeccaofsbfarm'>rebeccaofsbfarm</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>First Kiss Week [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Buddie First Kiss Week, Dad!Buck, FKW, M/M, Prompt: Domestic, except for platonic, fifth grade graduation, ish, platonic vegan gluten-free lemon bars</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 01:16:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,686</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24550099</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeccaofsbfarm/pseuds/rebeccaofsbfarm</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Eddie, how many single twenty-somethings do you know that spend Friday nights platonically baking 72 vegan gluten-free lemon bars for a kid’s bake sale? Or go to a PTA meeting straight after a 24-hour shift because that is the night they’re talking over bids for the accessible swing set? I’m here because I want to be here Eddie, and I’m content with being part of your family however you allow me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want more.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>First Kiss Week [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765291</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>660</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Everything Has Changed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello. For the sake of an event that would call for an assembly, we have fast-forwarded to Christopher's fifth grade graduation. Title is from the song by Taylor Swift because this reminded me of the music video. I likes it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Personal limousine for one Christopher Diaz,” Buck calls out the passenger window to the family gathered on the lawn in front of the Diaz house. Chris laughs at his awful joke, but Eddie rolls his eyes, refusing to justify it with a response. The limousine is only Buck’s Jeep, which has more room than Eddie’s truck, so he has volunteered to drive the whole Diaz family to Christopher’s fifth grade graduation ceremony.</p><p>Eddie helps Chris into the back seat, and Buck steps out to help Abuela and Pepa in as well, all charm and chivalry. When Buck compliments her earrings, even the stoic Pepa blushes, and this at least can make Eddie chuckle. Buck is good at what he does.</p><p>Eddie climbs into the front seat next to Buck, and starts to give Buck directions to the school, before Buck gives him a glance that says this is not his first time driving to Chris’s school and he does not need directions. Eddie still isn’t sure, but he quiets himself, noticing for the first time that Buck has dressed like this is a real graduation ceremony and not a few classes of fifth graders crossing the stage for their certificates before heading to middle school. He hasn’t gone so far as to wear a tie, but he’s wearing a powder blue shirt with a gray sports coat and man does it make his eyes pop. The moms are going to go nuts.</p><p>Eddie turns halfway in his seat to check in with his son, “You ready to be a middle-schooler bud?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Chris says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I’ve been ready. What about you dad? Are you ready to have a kid in middle school?”</p><p>“Ouch,” Buck laughs, sparing him a side glance. “He got you old man.”</p><p>“Dios mio,” Abuela says from the back seat. “I wonder what that makes me? I remember when your father was your age!”</p><p>Buck shrinks into the driver seat, unsure of whether he has offended Eddie’s grandmother, but then Eddie joins in, “But you were a young grandma, Abuela. You couldn’t be more than, what, 24 now?”</p><p>She swats at him bashfully from the back seat, and Eddie smirks at Buck, as if to say<em>, you still have much to learn where Diaz women are concerned</em>. They pull up to the front of the school, and Eddie volunteers to walk with Buck as they drop Chris off with Abuela and Pepa at the front doors.</p><p>“Remember mijo, head straight to the gym, and we’ll be waiting in the auditorium,” Eddie reminds him, before shuffling everyone out of the back seat, kissing Chris’s curls, and getting back in to ride with Buck to the parking lot. “And remember, I love you.”</p><p>“Good luck buddy!” Buck shouts from the driver’s seat, and it looks like he wants to say more, but he doesn’t, sending Chris off with a wave. When Eddie’s expression seems to question him, Buck shakes his head and puts the car in gear so they can park.</p><p>They get out of the car, and immediately Buck starts to recognize people, even people that Eddie doesn’t know, which is <em>odd</em> considering these are the parents of Chris’s classmates. As they walk toward the building, they are stopped multiple times by people who seem excited to see Buck, and are only passably aware of Eddie next to him.</p><p>“Hey Jess, how did the baking powder work out for you?” he asks one mom, who is pushing a toddler in a stroller on the way to the school. He pauses to explain to Eddie, “Jess said my chocolate chip cookies were the best she’d ever had, so I gave her my secret.”</p><p>“Even I don’t know the secret recipe,” Eddie jokes, trying to sound like he’s making an effort at conversation.</p><p>Buck shrugs, “You’ve got me to make them for you on demand. Besides, you can’t be trusted in the kitchen as it is.”</p><p>Jess laughs at them, shrilly in a way that seems over-polite, “They turned out great! Buck’s stuff always kills at the bake sale. It’s so great that Chris has the both of you, you know?”</p><p>Eddie opens his mouth to ask her meaning, but then her toddler starts to fuss, and she apologizes before pushing ahead. He looks at Buck to see if he has a further explanation, but he chuckles evasively, as if to say, <em>women, right?</em></p><p>They make it inside, and they spot their seats up near the front where Pepa is saving them through force of will. Eddie stops at a table that has a sign for parents to check in, and Buck continues to their seats so Pepa can relax.</p><p>Tasha is seated behind the table, Dylan’s mom, who Eddie is familiar with, and she is passing out class photos that had been taken earlier in the day, along with information for middle school orientation. Eddie finds himself relieved to find that at least one mom recognizes him, and Tasha stands to let the other mom take over so they can catch up.</p><p>“Is the whole family here?” Tasha asks, and Eddie turns to where Buck waves at him, watching the transaction. “Even Buck, huh?”</p><p>“Can’t go anywhere without him,” Eddie jokes. “He drove today, so today it’s very literal in a sense.”</p><p>“Is he ever going to make an honest man of you?” Tasha asks, and Eddie tries to interpret her meaning any way other than the one that comes to mind before asking her for clarification.</p><p>“Buck?” he asks, “Buck is my partner?”</p><p>“Well that’s what I mean. Are you making it official any time soon?” she lifts her left hand in an exaggerated gesture and waggles her fingers.</p><p>“No, Tasha, he’s my partner at work? You know, running into fires and repelling off buildings? That sort of thing?” Eddie reiterates, but Tasha doesn’t seem to understand.</p><p>“I know that’s how you met,” she says matter-of-factly, “But it’s amazing how well he’s fit into your and Christopher’s life. I remember when we first met you weren’t nearly as happy as you are now. And he comes to every PTA meeting, every bake sale…hell, even Ron doesn’t show up to all that shit.”</p><p><em>He comes to every PTA meeting?</em> Eddie thinks, because this is something Buck hasn’t told him. He did recall a rather chaotic night at his house with at least a hundred cupcakes, but he wasn’t sure he’d fully processed Buck’s involvement with Christopher’s school.</p><p>“Is Christopher all good for the ‘Sixth-Grader Sleepover’ tonight?” she asks, and Eddie finds that he’s lost control of what he had been trying to clarify for her. This is evident when her next statement is said with a wink, “Give you guys a night alone. Keep the romance alive.”</p><p>Eddie’s mouth hangs open, but he nods for lack of words, “Sure is. His bag is in the car when this is over.”</p><p>“Excellent! Dylan is so excited!” Tasha confirms, and then the other mom is waving her down to return to the table. She excuses herself, and Eddie is left baffled in her wake.</p><p>People are starting to take their seats for the ceremony, so Eddie finds the seat his family had saved. As he takes his seat, Buck spreads his arm over the seat behind him, and Eddie knows that his broad shoulders can’t be compacted into a folding chair, so he allows it, but he’s also tacitly aware of the warmth against his back.</p><p>“Everything cool?” Buck asks under his breath, as the principal takes the stage to begin her spiel about when to clap and reminding them to silence their phones.</p><p>He doesn’t feel he can answer briefly enough that it won’t interrupt the proceedings, so he nods, even though Buck looks skeptical beside him. His expression must give him away. He is saved by the lights dropping in the auditorium and the kids filing onto the stage. Kids fill the risers, and Christopher comes on nearly last, taking the front row.</p><p>Next to him, Buck is hooting and cheering, and Eddie can’t help but be amused. It’s like he’s at a concert and not in an elementary school auditorium. The applause dies down, and the kids sing a song they’d prepared. He settles against Buck’s arm, bursting with pride at his son, who is beaming into the audience, searching for them. He raises his hand, and Christopher nods with recognition, singing directly at them now.</p><p>Buck’s fingers probe at his shoulder, and Eddie turns to see that it isn’t intentional. Buck is still focused on the stage, his face lit from within at his pride for Christopher and his presence here. Eddie watches him, wonders how empty that seat would have been if he hadn’t joined the 118. If he hadn’t met Buck.</p><p>Instead, in a flash, he can see Buck down the years with gray hairs and smile lines around his eyes, watching as Christopher crosses the stage for his high school diploma and then his college degree. He feels so sure of the image, so secure in it, that it stuns him. Buck glances over at him, and Jesus, his eyes are piercing in that shirt, even in the dark.</p><p>Buck looks unsure of Eddie’s expression, watching him quizzically as a little girl reads a poem at the podium on the stage. Eddie stays him with a hand on his knee, and Buck glances down at his hand, confused, but looks back to the stage without moving it.</p><p>Finally, they begin to read off the names, and with Diaz near the front of the alphabet, they don’t have to wait very long until Christopher’s name is called. He crutches across the stage, and Dylan is at his elbow crossing the stage with him, holding his crutch as he accepts his diploma, and trading him to take the diploma so he can return to his place. It confirms for Eddie that he did the right thing by moving to L.A., surrounded by this family that he made with a son that is happy and loved.</p><p>Buck’s smile is spread so wide it takes over his face, and Eddie is watching him, wondering how it could have slipped past his notice, the way that Buck so easily filled the empty space next to him. Everyone else he spoke to seemed to know. How was he so oblivious?</p><p>When the ceremony is over, families gather outside for pictures, and Buck offers to take a picture of the Diaz family. They start to position themselves, but then Eddie sees Ron, Dylan’s dad, and motions him over, “Hey Ron, think you can a picture of the whole family for me?”</p><p>Ron is happy to do so, so they reposition themselves with Buck at his side and Abuela and Pepa on the other. He throws his arm over Buck’s shoulders, reinforcing that he belongs here, and Buck relaxes into his side.</p><p>Once the picture is taken, Ron asks if Christopher is ready for the sleepover, and they walk with him to his car as they collect other kids in the parking lot. Buck grabs Chris’s bag from the trunk and gets down on one knee to kiss the top of his head.</p><p>“Thanks Bucky,” Christopher acknowledges, before accepting hugs and kisses from each family member in turn, before turning to Eddie. “You gonna be okay dad?”</p><p>Well, he was until his ten-year-old felt the need to check in with him. Regardless he nods, reminding Christopher to have fun, and that he was only a phone call away, though he knows that by now Chris is a sleepover veteran and could handle his own.</p><p>Chris leans against Buck's shoulder conspiratorially, looking him in the eyes, "Okay Buck, think you can handle him tonight?"</p><p>They both look at Eddie, who is slightly offended by the assumption that one of them needs to take care of him, but he's also amused that Buck and Christopher have this sort of arrangement. Buck confirms that he can take this shift, and that Christopher shouldn't worry, just enjoy his sleepover.</p><p>Eddie watches Buck stand, stretching his long legs, and absently wonders if he might enjoy a sleepover as well. He may have balked when Tasha had suggested it, but he certainly has an itch to scratch after seeing how good Buck was for his son, for him.</p><p>He helps load Chris into Ron’s minivan, and when he returns, Buck has helped his grandmother and aunt into the back seat of the Jeep. Eddie had picked them up from his Abuela’s house earlier in the day, so Buck offers to drop them off, and Eddie watches in the rearview mirror as they share a knowing look in the back seat. He adds two more to his mental tally of people that thought he and Buck were <em>more</em>. It’s becoming a lengthy tab.</p><p>Once the matriarchs are safely home, Buck takes them through a drive thru on the way back to Eddie’s. Eddie patiently holds the warm bags of burgers and fries in his lap, hoping the quiet doesn’t worry Buck too much. The silence continues when they get home, and it’s helpfully filled with the sound of chewing and the filler show they put on the TV.</p><p>After they’ve finished, Eddie gathers the trash in the empty bags and takes them to the kitchen, returning with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Buck gives him a dubious look, noting the exception to their usual beer bottles.</p><p>“I figured we’d celebrate Chris’s big achievement,” Eddie explains, pouring two glasses. Buck swirls his absentmindedly as Eddie pours his own. “Actually, Tasha was telling me something interesting before the ceremony. Were you going to PTA Meetings?”</p><p>Buck slides his glass onto the coffee table, looking guilty, “I’m sorry. I overstepped, didn’t I?”</p><p>Eddie shakes his head, realizing his meaning was unclear, “No, Buck, absolutely not. I'm grateful you went. I’m just curious what you were doing there and why you never mentioned it to me?”</p><p>“Well, one day I was picking up Chris from school, and one of the moms mentioned that there had been some talk about modifying the playground for wheelchair use. And I know Chris isn’t there, but I also know that we should advocate for kids like Chris because we don’t know what the future holds,” Buck shrugs, and he refuses to look Eddie in the eyes, but Eddie watches him nonetheless. “You were having a really rough week at work and I didn’t want to add to your burden, so I just went to the meeting. When I got there, I was one of the only d-” Buck catches himself, “<em>men</em> there. So when they told me the meetings were monthly, I put it in my calendar. And then they were talking about funding for the changes and somebody suggested a bake sale, so I got looped into that as well.”</p><p>“Buck, why didn’t you tell me you were doing all this work for Christopher?” Eddie asks, and once again he reaches for Buck, this time taking his hand, folding his fingers around Buck’s. “I can’t tell you what that means to me.”</p><p>Buck shrugs, “It wasn’t anything you wouldn’t have done.”</p><p>And Eddie realizes how true that is. The difference of course is that Eddie is Chris’s father. It’s his job to do these things. But then, what did that make Buck?</p><p>“Tasha mentioned something else too,” Eddie continues, and he holds tighter to Buck, knowing that an escape attempt is forthcoming. “Did you realize that all of the moms think you’re my partner?”</p><p>“I am your partner,” Buck hedges, his eyes darting away, focusing on a point on the wall.</p><p>“Buck you know what I mean. My <em>romantic</em> partner,” Eddie clarifies. “You spend so much more time with them, you think you would have noticed.”</p><p>“I did,” Buck admits cautiously. “But what could I say to correct them? That I was a childless twenty-something that liked to bake and be useful? Somehow I wasn’t sure how that would go over. Besides, I’m secure enough in our relationship to know what we have and I know that, for you, it isn’t romantic.”</p><p>The tension that was already filling the room feels ready to burst, “Buck, why did you say it like that?”</p><p>“Like what?” Buck evades, and this time he succeeds in freeing his hand. He picks up his wine glass so Eddie can’t take it back and stands to put some distance between them.</p><p>“For me?” Eddie asks, and his voice comes out so soft he’s not sure if he’s spoken it aloud. His heart is pulsing in his chest, reminding him that it’s being overworked. “What is it for you Buck?”</p><p>Buck scoffs and his head falls back, searching the ceiling for some sort of answer, before he admits, “Eddie, how many single twenty-somethings do you know that spend Friday nights <em>platonically</em> baking 72 vegan gluten-free lemon bars for a kid’s bake sale? Or go to a PTA meeting straight after a 24-hour shift because that is the night they’re talking over bids for the accessible swing set? I’m here because I want to be here Eddie, and I’m content with being part of your family however you allow me. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want more.”</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Eddie asks him gently, standing and taking a step toward him. Buck takes another long drink from his wine glass.</p><p>“So we could have this awkward conversation? The one we’re having right now?” Buck chuckles, and he still can’t quite look at Eddie. “Where you tell me you’re flattered, and I tell you it’s fine, but we have a hard time going back to normal and you stop asking me over because you feel awkward, and I never get to see Christopher, my <em>best friend</em>, because now you know that even in the most ingenuous moments I <em>want</em> you…”</p><p>Buck sounds like he has another thought, a conclusive one, but he swallows it before he can admit to anything more. Eddie is cautious, afraid that one wrong move could shatter Buck like glass. He takes short steps, tries not to spook him, but then he is standing in front of him.</p><p>“Buck, <em>mi corazón</em>,” Buck stills, and Eddie isn’t sure if he knows the meaning, but he certainly knows that he’s called Christopher by that name before. He reaches out, lets his thumb trail Buck’s jaw to his chin. “I’m an idiot. I am. I didn’t see it, not until today. I looked over at you, saw how much you love Christopher, how you think of him as <em>yours</em>, and I realized that you <em>are </em>my partner. I can’t imagine anyone else by my side when he graduates with his diploma, his college degree, when he gets married. You’re the only one I want by my side. I <em>want</em> you too, Buck.”</p><p>Buck opens his mouth to say something, but for the first time in Eddie’s memory, he can’t find words. Instead, Eddie shifts forward, and his eyes fall to Buck’s lips, left agape for him, then finds his eyes, asking for permission, “Can I try something?”</p><p>Buck doesn’t answer, doesn’t move except to wet his lips with the tip of his tongue, and he pulls Buck forward with the crook of a finger beneath his chin, so well balanced that it is effortless, and then Buck’s lips are on his and he is <em>floating</em>. Buck still seems unsure, and Eddie knows why, because this is so sudden and god, he was <em>stupid</em> for not seeing this before. For not knowing that all along <em>this</em> was right here, next to him, in Buck’s arms.</p><p>Buck had done so much for him, for them, and had never asked for recognition. Eddie would do everything to make sure Buck knew just how grateful he was, how blessed he felt, knowing that he wasn’t doing this alone. He seems to convince Buck, he doesn’t know how, but his hand settles lazily against Eddie’s hip, before he gropes to set down his wine glass on a surface, and then he is all-in, pushing Eddie by the hips until he is pressed against the wall.</p><p>His fingers are frenzied, dragging against the hem of his shirt, as if Eddie will retreat from him if he doesn’t prove himself fast enough, and Eddie stills his hands, “Buck, we have time. We have so much time.”</p><p>Buck melts with a sigh, finally processing that this is real, that he can give into everything he’d been wanting since he’d met Eddie, since he’d met Christopher.</p><p>“You know what I want?” Eddie asks, and he leans forward. Buck realizes that he has him pinned against the wall, so he steps back, but he doesn’t go far.</p><p>Buck laughs, and he reaches out to tether himself against Eddie’s hip, “I couldn’t even guess. Nothing about this day has been predictable, especially where you’re concerned.”</p><p>“Well,” Eddie starts, and he throws an arm lazily around Buck, and it’s not enough, so he presses his lips against Buck’s jaw. “Earlier, one of the moms, Jess I think it was, mentioned your incredible cookies…”</p><p>“They’re pretty great,” Buck defends, but his breath is short with Eddie’s lips leaving a path across his jaw. “The trick is to add baking powder…”</p><p>“Shhh, you told me I didn’t need to know the secret,” Eddie slides his lips across Buck’s stubble until he’s sucking at his earlobe. “Actually, you promised me cookies on demand.”</p><p>Buck’s mouth opens and faint moan comes out. Eddie smirks and pulls away, just far enough that Buck can think, “Did I?”</p><p>“You did,” Eddie reminds him, and then finds his hand, leading him toward the hallway. “So I figured, Chris is out of the house all night. Maybe once we’re done here, you can fulfill your end of the bargain.”</p><p>“Done here?” Buck asks, but Eddie just answers by dragging him forward, pulling Buck against him and letting him feel just how appreciative he is.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>